Arthropathy of hands and feet in systemic lupus erythematosus

Hand and foot radiographs of 51 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were examined prospectively and correlations made between radiological, clinical and serological data. At least one abnormality was present in the hands of 53% and in the feet of 66.7% of patients. Jaccoud's type arthropathy affected the hands of 12% and the feet of 8% of patients. Erosions of the ulnar styloids were common (27.5%) but their presence did not correlate with any clinical or laboratory feature of SLE. Antibodies to U1 RNP correlated with hand deformity, while severity of radiological damage related mainly to disease duration.